HOMILY for June 9, 2019: Feast of Pentecost, Cycle C

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Feast of Pentecost, Cycle C

Terranova Hermitage

June 9, 2019           

A New Way to Understand Evangelization

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato 

 

Evangelization

When I was a child, my mother would often take me into NYC with her whiles she was shopping for fabrics and I remember seeing street preachers.

These preachers were trying to convert people to Jesus. They would shout and threaten damnation if people didn’t listen.

That is my earliest recollection of what is called evangelization. We hear this word used often today even by Pope Francis.  

The word comes directly from the Latin word that means Gospel or good news. So, evangelization means that we bring the Gospel or good news to the world around us. I must admit that hearing the yelling of the street preachers didn’t sound like good news at all!

Naming Grace

Recently I came across an insightful way to understand evangelization now in the twenty-first century.

One of our Catholic theologians says that evangelization is first of all about naming grace – naming grace. It is not really about bringing God to people, as though God were not already there.

Instead, when we evangelize, we do not so much make God present, but we name or identify or point out how God is already present. As I have come to understand it, this means that our human experiences can speak to us of God.

So, the calling to evangelize first requires us to be interpreters of everyday human experience. We are to help each other to see life as touched by God.

We do this by looking at life with the eyes of faith. Evangelization involves looking more deeply into the ordinary to see the Extraordinary—spelled with a capital E.

It is looking at the human and everyday and seeing the divine right there.  I think this insight is excellent and is at least the first step of evangelization in this century and culture. 

 

Examples of Naming Grace

So, for example, a child is born. And we stand in awe of this new life from God.

Or we forgive someone, even though we feel that we ourselves gain nothing from this. And we know that the power to do this has in some mysterious way come from God.

Or we sacrifice for another person, for a daughter to go off to college or for a person in need whom we never even meet. And we are aware of a spirit within us that moves us to do this.

Or we’re are taken by a magnificent sunset. And we wonder about the something, or Someone – spelled with a capital S – that is behind all of this.

Or finally, we find ourselves really loving someone. And we sense that there is a mystery to this that transcends any human explanation for it.   

Evangelization: The Way of Jesus

So, we need to name the grace of God in ways like this.

That, I believe, must be the first step of evangelization in this century and culture. We point out and identify God’s presence, already in our midst.  

And that presence, my friends, is the Holy Spirit. It is who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit is about.

And then, with this naming done, we can proceed to the next step. We can proceed to lifting up the wonderful way that Jesus shows us and invite others to consider that way.

In sum, we name the grace and then we invite someone else to make that a conscious experience for themselves. 

And, in both steps, we are positive. We are not like the street preachers I remember as a child, as sincere as they were.  

We are not condemning or labeling someone as in mortal sin. We are not threatening others with damnation and manipulating them with fear.

Instead, we simply name grace and name the way of Jesus. And in so doing, we are living his way, the way of love and respect for others, no matter what.

Conclusion

This, I believe, is the way to celebrate and grow the presence of the Holy Spirit.

This is one way for us to understand and celebrate Pentecost today. 

HOMILY for June 2, 2019: Ascension Sunday, Cycle C

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Ascension Sunday, ABC

Church of the Nativity

June 2, 2019

Next Steps in Your Mission

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

Mission Statements

I believe it’s no accident that I was asked to celebrate Mass this weekend and no accident for the day to be the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. 

It’s no accident that the Gospel has Jesus ascending to the Father after a life of ministry on earth and leaving the disciples with a mission.

I’ll leave you hanging for a moment on why it’s no accident and I promise to return to tell you why.

Let me begin with the word “mission.” A mission is a statement that points a direction, marshals resources, and in the end gives meaning to an effort.

President John Kennedy issued such a mission to congress on May 25, 1961 to get us to the moon by the end of the decade and in doing that he set a direction and financial and technological resources were gathered. 

At the time there was no such policy nor did any agency exist to realize the mission. 

And then — 8 years and 2 months later — on the night of July 20, 1969 Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the surface of the moon. That single act of walking on the lunar surface united us as a people and made us proud to be Americans. 

For a brief time in our history there was no North or South, no Republicans or Democrats, no Black or White, no Christians, Muslims or Jews . We were all Americans and we were proud as a nation!

Next month, July 20, will be the 50^thanniversary of the mission accomplished.

Jesus’ Offer of a Mission

Today Jesus gives us a similar mission in his leaving earth to ascend to the Father. A similar mission that points a direction, marshals resources, and promises us meaning, unity, and pride. 

Let’s look at the scene for a moment. 

The Acts of the Apostles proclaims that, “While they were looking intently at the sky … two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, ‘People of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going up to heaven.’”

Yes, this same Jesus you walked with, ate with (Hands) is taken from your sight BUT will return “in the same way as you have seen him going” “The same way,” is the same power that comes next week in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

And in the second reading from Ephesians, Paul tells us how we know this to be true when he prays that, “The eyes of your heart be enlightened that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call.”

Finally the Gospel gives us the mission: you are my witnesses to (1) my being raised from the dead, witnesses(2) for the forgiveness of sins

Further, the disciples are advised to,“Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high”, that is, until they’ve received the Spirit that will empower them to complete the mission that begins Jerusalem.

It is only after giving them the mission and the resources does Jesus then raise his hands, bless them, and is taken up into heaven.

Leaving those he loved, yes. But leaving them with the mission and the power to be his presence to the “world.”

They do Jesus homage and then they return to Jerusalem with great joy and were “continually in the temple praising God.” 

Today, we too have heard the mission. Today, we too are in the temple praising God. 

Nicholas’ Acceptance 

As I promised, I return to why celebrating Eucharist today, the Ascension, and the missioning of the disciples, is no accident for me.

Two years ago the Sunday Gospel for the Ascension was from St. Matthew where Jesus missions them to minister in Jerusalem, to all of Judea, and to the ends of the earth.

I had just joined the parish and was wondering what my “next step” would be. The Ascension Gospel moved me to (1) Ministry here at Nativity — “Jerusalem” for the disciples — (2) Charitable efforts  in Baltimore City — “throughout Judea” for the disciples —and (3) To become part of our ministry team to Kenya — “to the ends of the earth” for the disciples. 

See the trajectory here? Moved to mission by Jesus’ words (1) “To Jerusalem,” (2) “Throughout Judea” and (3) “To the ends of the earth.” It’s not so much about how I responded, but it’s about the PROCESS of how Jesus’ Ascension Missions, Motivates, and Moves us.

Your Next Step

So in your hearing this missioning Gospel, what’s your next step? You can’t just keep looking up to the sky and bemoaning Jesus’ leaving.

Where do you stand regarding a mission that will give your life meaning, unite you with others, to make disciples of all?

That’s the question we’re all left with, but only you can answer for yourself.